


How Did We Never Meet?

by WhatIfIAmInsane



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Blow Jobs, John drunk when they first meet, M/M, Sherlock's mean, Students, Unilock, and they generally think the other is pretty hot, probably ooc sherlock because I'm still working on getting him right, quite a bit of plot before the porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-04-10 08:28:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4384580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatIfIAmInsane/pseuds/WhatIfIAmInsane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>By accident John stumbles into Sherlock's flat in the dead of the night because getting drunk is what you do after your last exam for the term. The meeting with the infamous student leads to a bit more trouble than John would like at first but perhaps it's not too bad, considiering what standing your ground might get you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, another little tryout from my side. Initially I wanted to get a lot more plot into this but I shortened it quite drastically. I'm still practicing so if you want something very refined you'll probably not find it here. Still, have fun reading.

God, he drank too much John thought stumbling more than walking along the pavement. One, two, three... fuck he had lost count how many house entrances he had already passed. Mike had promised to leave one window slightly ajar so he could climb in and kip on the couch instead of having to go and find a cab home. John didn't make a habit of drinking too much on a normal day but when one had finally finished his last exam for the year things could go a little overboard. But that was what he had Mike for, who, although leaving earlier, still let him sleep it off at his home.

 

With a triumphant 'ah' John found an open window. He briefly raised an eyebrow at it because it was wide open but shrugged and clambered in nonetheless. Inside he looked around a little dumfounded that was not how he remembered Mike's living room.

“What are you doing here if I may ask?” a smooth voice inquired from out of nowhere.

Hastily John turned around to face the other person in the room.

“I... What are you doing here?” his words still slurred, the shock having cleared his head a bit but not too much.

The deep voice chuckled and the owner put down a pair of tweezers, rising form the table at the opposite side of the room. “Well, it is my flat. So, I hate to repeat myself but what are you doing here?”

John gaped at the man in front of him, eyes big. “I... just... ehm… ”

“You just what?” the other pulled off a pair of disposable gloves and came closer. “Let's see your posture, the way your eyes are lightly glazed over, the definite slowness with which your brain is responding... We'll you don't have to be me to find out you're pretty drunk.”

John wanted to protest, to defend himself.

“Don't bother, you think you are just a little lit but honestly you've had more than you think. With all the studying you did the past one and a half months, no drinking and your overall questionable choice of dinner today, it's no wonder that your alcohol intake had such a dramatic effect.”, the other continued and John was getting the feeling he knew the person whom he had disturbed in the middle of the night. “Going from there, I'd say medical student who had his last exam today for this term and was planning to kip on the couch of a friend. But my question still stands: John Watson, what are you doing in my flat?” the voice was supple and pale eyes were sizing him up. John subconsciously fell into a defensive position, shoulders squaring and eyes hardening. He was well used to that because of his height, or more the lack thereof, he had gotten himself in more than one fight during his teenage years.

 

The dark haired man let out a barking laugh, “I don't want to fight you, I'd just like an answer to my question but if you don't want to answer I can gladly go on.” he gave John a short time to pull himself together and to compose an answer. The students mind had caught up enough, the alcohol induced haze gone and he cleared his throat, “Eh, long story short: Wanted to kip on a friend's couch, he told me he'd leave the window open so I could get in and I miscounted.” John rubbed his hand over his neck, biting his lip, “Sorry for interrupting... I... do I know you? I feel like I should but yeah you already know I had a beer too much.”

“I doubt it was just beer.” the dark haired scoffed, then extended his hand, “Sherlock Holmes.”

John looked at the hand with a raised eyebrow, the facts to this name slamming back into his head. “Do you really expect me to shake your hand? You know I actually am not a social leper and know all the little stories. So, I hope you'll excuse my bad manners in this case.” John still managed a genuine smile. He would be lying if he said he wasn't interested at all in the person in whose flat he found himself in. There was nearly no one on campus who didn't know about Sherlock Holmes. Although, John had never met the man himself, he thought of the stories that were being told more of well planted rumours than the truth.

Sherlock crocked his head at John, “So what is it that you've heard? Mad drug addict? Probably psychopath with murderous tendencies? I have to tell you that one is not truer for me than for any other student. Or is there another rumour I haven't yet heard about myself? I’m sure there are plenty going around. Your little minds have a fantastic need for entertainment and to be honest I don’t bother keeping up too much. It gets repetitive after a while” He went on, his eyes skimming over John’s body as if he was collecting more and more information, enriching his database to find something he could use against the student.

“Ah, they are mostly around that and… well, don’t want to bore you.” John shrugged, Sherlock was coming closer but he would be damned before he started to back away. Technically he had no right to stand like an immoveable object in the middle of someone else’s living room, didn’t stop him from letting the other stalk so close that he had to tip his head up slightly to keep eye contact, tough. Alcohol does make a courageous fool of you, sometimes.

“Well, for not wanting to bore me you are taking up a lot of time I could be using on my experiment, John”, the taller student said, looking down at John with one eyebrow perfectly arched upwards and the name drawn out with a smirk. It was the first time John actually took in the appearance before him. Obviously there were hushed descriptions running over the campus along with the various tales of what the Holmes boy seemingly got up to, aside from being a bloody brilliant student. Unlike other people in his year he had never felt the need to find out who was behind all the stories that were told behind closed doors, because no one dared to talk out loud, fearing some unknown wrath. So far, John thought Sherlock wasn’t so much different from the other students. Cotton T-Shirt hanging loosely off his shoulders, barefoot and in pyjama pants the other didn’t seem too frightening. John decided the rest of the student corps was being a bit dramatic and there was nothing dangerous about the infamous Sherlock Holmes, well perhaps with the exception of what was standing on the desk, labelled ‘Perchloric acid’.

“You know that stuff his highly reactive and can spontaneously self-combust at room temperature?!” John said looking past Sherlock’s shoulder and nodding his head towards the bottle. He should probably get out of this flat but currently he didn’t really feel inclined to do so. There was still plenty of time to get back to Mike’s but this opportunity was rare and he felt like making the most of it.

“Don’t be daft” the deep voice sounded almost sulky “It is perfectly safe. Now if you would excuse me, I have more important things to do than entertain you. There is the door or take the same way you came in.” He waved his hand in the general direction of door and window, before sitting down again completely ignoring John’s presence.

John huffed amused. That was some strange evening he was having, standing in the middle of the most talked about and feared student’s flat and being ignored. If he had taken it personally, his pride definitely would’ve been wounded now. He was beginning to question where all the rumours originated from. So far he had intruded in Sherlock’s flat without permission, hadn’t budged or shown himself out when clearly asked to and nothing frightening had happened. There were no biting remarks, threats to expose some weird, screwed up secret, bodily harm or some dark ritual going on he would be sacrificed in. Yes, students could be colourful when spreading stories.

“You know this whole thing is a bit anticlimactic” John remarked and turned around, looking at the room he had stumbled into. Most of the walls were covered in dark, old bookshelves which were stuffed full of all different kinds of books, definitely not only Volumes that would be necessary for the other’s field of study. There was a skull on the mantelpiece and one on the wall, wearing headphones. The coffee table seemed to overflow with random notes and papers. The flat looked lived in but there seemed to be no trace of anyone else sharing the space. So at least one of the things you heard was true. If you were able to afford a flat all on your own near University in London, then you had to come from money.

“Stop thinking so loudly” Sherlock snapped suddenly, pulling John harshly out of his contemplations. “What do I have to tell you to make you go away? Clearly my name wasn’t enough, although I’ve worked hard to make it that.”

“I don’t know, answer a question or two?” John smirked, he felt daring. Now that he had met the mysterious youth he wanted to see what all the talking was about. He might not have cared to seek Sherlock out of his own interest but he recognised a chance when it presented itself.

“Fine, if that gets you to leave” exasperated one of the graceful hands made a gestured for John to continue “Ask me a question or two but if you don’t make it quick, I’ll have you thrown out of University.”

That comment made John laugh “That’s all you’ve got in the threat department? God, really an anticlimactic meeting. The great Sherlock Holmes, feared by all students but in the end nothing more than a grumpy Teenager.”

Faster than anything that would have left John a moment to react, Sherlock had sprung up from his chair and was looming over him again, twirling a scalpel in one hand. “Say that again” he hissed, the sharp blade reflecting a dangerous gleam in the low light. John swallowed but kept his eyes calmly trained on the other, doing his best to ignore the dangerous placement of the medical tool. With a deep breath he kept his voice as level as he could “You are blown up to be the Über-villain but in the end you rely on teenager like threats which don’t work. I have to say, I’m disappointed. I was expecting… more, I guess”

The cool blue eyes seized him up again, as if they were pealing his skin back layer by layer, exposing everything he might wish to hide. Lucky for him, John didn’t bother hiding too much, people were just used to not bothering to see too much. With a final grin he patted his hand twice on Sherlock’s chest and left the other standing in the middle of the room. “Nice chat, we should do that again sometime. I’ll see myself out” and with nothing more he walked over to the door and out onto the street. He took a few fast steps until he could duck into a small alley and let his back fall against a rough brick wall. Well, that had been a weird encounter for sure. He felt like something had been off about it but he couldn’t quiet put his finger on it. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is quite short but the last one will be pretty long. So I hope you can suffer through two relatively short ones before that extended 4th chapter.

The new term had started a lot like the last had finished. In the end there wasn’t that much difference once you had gone through the motions a few times. Courses were too full, you had to run to the teachers to ask for a place, they would curse and grumble but in the end put you on the list. Books were too expensive, you would moan seeing their price in the shop but dutifully pay the bill either way. Life seemed dull and repetitive but you suffered through because there was something looming at the end that you desperately wanted to have. All in all life went on as normal.

 

The term break had been filled with enough work to make John forget his strange encounter with the infamous Sherlock Holmes. That name was filed away somewhere at the back of his head with other things he didn’t really care about.

“John!” a voice exclaimed and he turned around, letting his eyes wander curiously around the cafeteria. There were too many people here, as it was always the case at the beginning of a term but he quickly zeroed in on a small woman pushing her way through the crowd.

“Molly” he smiled gleefully “How was your break? Did something fun then?”

She put her tray on the table and hugged him tightly before pulling out a chair for herself to sit down. “Well, yeah whatever you call fun but you know how it is, you try to cram in as much work as possible” she chuckled. Molly was a bit younger than him and he had gotten to know her through a seminar he had done for a teacher in the younger years to earn a bit of money during the term. She had been one of the only people who were genuinely glad about some extra help and the possibility to ask questions. Most students hated these courses because they thought of them as extra time they had to spend in the University building but John couldn’t help that. In the end he had become friends with Molly and he actually liked her shy and sometimes flustered behaviour. Her brutal honesty though was something he value most.

“So, same as always” John grinned “Are you back to watching the dead now? It’s actually not the worst of jobs, is it? I mean a lot of time for studying.”

“No, definitely not. Most think it’s creepy, though.” she shrugged “I think of it as practice.”

“Still set on the job as mortician then, are we?” John shook his head smiling.

“Yep, and no you are not going to change my mind. I’m not good with living people and I think I would be a failure as a practicing doctor. God, I’d be scared to death to kill someone all the time, that’s not a good trait in that job.” she laughed brightly at her own failings but otherwise took them with grace “Perhaps, I’ll try to work my way up to pathologist for the police. May be more exciting than your everyday hospital morgue.”

John grinned in between bites of food “You want to catch the baddies then? How ambitious, never thought of you as the crime fighting sort”

She playfully punched him “Stop it, I’m not some fainting maiden. But yeah, I’ve read quit a few books on it over the break and I think that’s something I could see myself ending up as. Of course I need a good deal of practice first and you don’t just get that job without work experience but hey, everyone needs a goal.”

John felt almost proud of her determination. He really liked her, as a friend mind you, but he really did.

 

“Hey” she nudged him gently “Is that Sherlock Holmes?” Her head nodded towards the front of the cafeteria where a ring of students had formed around an imposing figure.

“Well, by the looks of it, apparently yes.” John shrugged, suddenly remembering his only meeting with the student, “Why are they behaving as if he had leprosy? He won’t kill you if you come near.”

Molly nearly choked on the bit of pasta she had just put into her mouth and had to cough violently. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same guy?” she asked, wiping away a tear that had formed and looked at John bewildered “He has already reduced people to tears who have just looked at him the wrong way from across the room. I don’t even want to know what he’d do if you were to actually touch him.”

John scrunched up his forehead in confusing “Nothing to be honest. I had a run in with him at the end of last term, mind you I was drunk as hell but I doubt that’d have mattered much to him.”

“Johnny” Molly squeaked suddenly, clamping one hand over her mouth as if talking too loud was now outlawed “And you didn’t tell me?! Where did you meet him? How was he? How is it to look into his eyes?”

“Keep calm” John chuckled and made a calming motion with his hand “Do you have a crush on him?”

“Pff” she brushed it off “Not more than everyone, I mean he is gorgeous, yes but too rude to actually be crush material. No, he’s someone you admire from afar and certainly something to fuel the bad boy fantasies of nearly everyone but that’s it. You never actually want to come near them. Still, tell me how you’ve met him”

John shrugged “I accidently climbed through the window into his flat because I miscounted and thought it was Mike’s. Nothing big, it was the middle of the night and he was handling some dangerous acid in his pyjamas.”

Molly squeaked even louder and hit John’s arm excited, leaning in closer “Tell me more. I need to know everything. That’s the most interesting gossip since the beginning of my first term when someone said he had auditioned people for an orgy.”

“You honestly believed that?” John asked “I’ve seen his flat, I doubt anyone would go in there on a voluntary basis much less to have sex. With the acid on the table, and I doubt that was the only dangerous thing in there, that flat is a disaster waiting to happen”

“Well, it certainly fits into the picture, doesn’t it? With him being all mysterious and crowded in secrets and the way he can tell you everything about yourself with one glance. It is impressive, I mean I’ve heard of a lot of girls who would give nearly everything to spend a night with him. Although I believe they all think, they’d be the one to crack his shell and be _The One_.” she told him.

“And you don’t think, you could be _The One_?” John asked with a smirk, Molly’s crush was obvious but it was as well clear it wasn’t anything serious just the same as any other crush on a famous person you couldn’t reach and if you were honest with yourself, didn’t even want to reach.

“Nah” she shook her head, looking over to where someone was apparently getting a good dressing down by Sherlock “He’s too much of an arse and probably gay either way.”

 

“Argh, is this really necessary?” John asked her, watching as the imposing figure of Sherlock Holmes loomed over what seemed to be an unfortunate freshman.

“Well, it’s how he is and he’ll probably only need this display and everyone who is new has understood the rules” Molly shrugged.

“It’s still a bit much, god that poor sod is nearly crying” John sighed. He was wondering how he had never actually seen Sherlock on Campus for the past years and suddenly he appeared in the cafeteria on the first day to harass students. There were several courses of action he could take now and if he hadn’t been as thick headed as he was, he’d probably have stayed with Molly, ignoring the tumult at the front of the room. But he was who he was. With a sigh he turned to Molly “Keep an eye on my things, please” and stood up. Whatever it was the person had done, John had decided it didn’t warrant public humiliation to this degree and since everyone seemed too cowardly to stand up to Sherlock, he would have to do it. He squared his shoulders and pushed through the ring of people to get to the centre.

 

The voice was deeper and sharper than in John’s memory. The other was also looking more impressive dressed in the defined lines of his black suit, which was masterfully tailored to his frame. John instantly decided he preferred the version he had met drunk in the dead of the night. Right now he could see how all the stories came to be, Sherlock was looking the part of an untouchable deity. Still, John had decided to help the kid and he would be damned if he didn’t try.

“Hey, okay. That’s enough now” he raised his voice over the cutting remarks Sherlock was still delivering, something about the boy’s father being a drunk which was apparently visible in the way the student held his bag. There was an audible gasp as the rest of the people realised what he had just done. John didn’t care much about that and turned towards the young student, he looked barely 18 and was thoroughly frightened.

“Hey, everything fine? Just don’t listen to him” John smiled and reached out to put a hand comforting on the kid’s shoulder “Just go, you never actually have to stay and listen to someone insulting you. Walk away and that’s that.”

The silence around them was deafening and John smiled. He knew he had turned his back towards Sherlock and he had also heard enough stories to know that wasn’t something you should do. But currently he was planning on letting the other taste a bit of his own medicine, he had been here way too long to be impressed by hollow threats and big egos.

“Are you here with someone?” John continued caring for the new student, after that public display it was the least he needed now “Otherwise you can come and sit with us. You see the girl with the long brown hair there? Just go to her.” He pointed at Molly who’s eyes grew bigger and her expression clearly said ‘Don’t pull me into this, you idiot’. The new student nodded thankful and tried to make his way as quick as possible to where Molly was sitting. He wasn’t the centre of attention anymore either way that was John now.

“Okay now everyone can mind their own business again” he turned around to look at everyone and made a dismissive gesture with his hands “Come on, you all have something better to do. And you should be above this.” John shot an annoyed look at Sherlock, before he headed back to the table again, ignoring everything around him. Sure enough, when he was sitting down next to Molly, the black haired student had stormed off with a deep scowl on his face.

“Did you really just do what I think you did?” the girl whispered looking at John as if he had just defeated a bear with his bare hands.

“If you mean having sent Mr. Holmes packing, then yes” he shrugged and sighed a bit, his lunch was only lukewarm now.

“You’re completely barmy, John Watson” Molly shook her head and smiled.

“Nah, just too old to be impressed by blown up peacocks” he grinned in response.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone rejoice at the end of the week there will be the final chapter aka the long one with the scene I had originally intended to be part of the first chapter making this a One Shot but then there was plot and then I was to lazy to write more plot. :)

He felt like the news had made the round of the Campus within minutes. John couldn’t move on the University grounds more than five meters without someone turning around to catch an eyeful of him. It was annoying at the best of times and downright hateful at the worst. With a bit of good natured optimism John had thought this would last for a day, maximum two but he had been wrong. On top of all the stares he received Sherlock had been following him for the past two weeks. At first he took it as simple coincidence that the other was appearing nearly everywhere he was himself, always at a safe distance and with a look on his face that could have killed. But after the first week he had stopped believing in coincidences, especially when Molly had pointed out how weird it was that Sherlock hung around on Campus so much.

 

“Oh god, it’s killing me” John sighed and dropped into the chair next to Molly in the library, letting his forehead hit the desk.

“How does it feel being the most popular guy in University?” she chuckled, keeping her voice down.

“Very funny” he scowled “I’m definitely not but it’s still bloody exhausting.”

“I bet you’re regretting saving me” Toby said sheepishly. After the incident the boy had started to trail after Molly whenever time would allow it, by proxy keeping in John’s company. Not that John minded, Toby was nice enough and fun. 

He waved off “Keep calm that was more a thing of principles than anything else. Someone should have done that ages ago.”

“Well, yeah but you did it” Molly reminded him, flipping through a book.

“I know and if this goes on for much longer, I can't be held responsible for my actions anymore” John took a look at the stack of books in front of his friends “I see you tried to be quicker than everyone else with getting the exam relevant reading materials. Sure you feel like reading that all at the same time?”

“I have enough time John Watson since I'm not fending off admirers left and right from where I step” she grinned, continuing to sort through the books.

“If you want to take over just tell me. It's getting ridiculous, I'd quiet like to have someone genuinely interested in me and not treating me like some trophy”

“Well, then go for the Mister himself, he seems interested enough” Toby nodded his head slightly into the direction where the dark figure had sprawled on a chair, taking up a whole group table with books and note sheets. Not only the distributed possessions but also the well-fitting air of ennui and danger surrounding him played into his cards. No one seemed to dare to get closer.

John huffed “No way and he’s probably just trying to figure out how to best knock me out of University”

“If he wanted to do that, you’d already be gone” Molly smiled cheerfully “So chin up and be a pretty boy.”

“Molly!” John looked at her in shock, punching her playfully “I’m not your gay, twink friend”

“You know that term is distasteful” she just shrugged.

“Yeah but makes a point” John raised an eyebrow “Doesn’t it, Toby?”

“I… I wouldn’t know” the boy stuttered, blushing slightly under John’s gaze. He quickly fiddled with the pages of the book in front of him. If you could trip over pages with your fingers, that’s what he did, clumsily managing to swipe the book off the table. With a swift motion John picked it up from the floor and stood in front of Toby, holding it out.

“Don’t throw it away, you’ll need it” he smiled and after the younger had took it ruffled his hand through the other’s hair which just intensified the blush.

“John, don’t play with your friends. It’s not nice” Molly sighed “Either admit you think he’s cute and fuck him or stop. I need to study.”

At the comment John’s eyebrows shot up and a smirk bloomed on his face whereas Toby looked like he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole.

“I make a point of not fucking friends because it does tend to ruin friendships” he chuckled and looked at Toby with a smile “Sorry, but it’s better believe me”

“Then keep your moral high ground but get out of my sight”

“Yep, mistress” John mocked her a little “I have classes either way. See you two around if I’m not killed by a mob of people trying to unobtrusively catch a glimpse or ‘accidental’ body contact.”

 

 

He had left them to their studies in favour of his own courses. By the time evening had rolled around he was thoroughly exhausted and wasn’t yearning for much more than his bed and some mindless TV program. But there was currently one problem, preventing him from doing exactly that:

“Sherlock Holmes, what are you doing on my bed?”

 

John didn’t know whether he should be impressed, distressed or livid that the other had somehow managed to pick the lock of his University grade flat and personal room. Now sitting, with his shoes, on John’s bed.

“Waiting for you to come home” the ‘obviously’ was implied by the annoyed timbre which coloured the deep voice. For a moment John had to think whether the voice had been that deep at their first encounter, too. He even forgot all the questions that had whirled around his head, well almost.

“And why couldn’t you have done that, I don’t know, outside? Like anyone else? Who has let you in by the way and how exactly did you get into my room? I locked it this morning” slightly annoyed John put his bag and keys down.

“As if I needed a key to get somewhere” Sherlock huffed and sat up, moving closer to the edge of the bed.

“Great so you are telling me that for no good reason at all you broke into my room?” John rubbed his hand over his eyes, this was definitely too much for the day he had had. Why couldn’t these things wait until he had a day that didn’t leave him exhausted to the bones?

“I never said I didn’t have a good reason,” the other’s voice was giving John a headache since everything about the taller student was now associated with a week from hell in John’s mind.

“It better be bloody good because otherwise I will give you a thorough kick in the arse on your way out. No scratch that I’m going to do that either way” he huffed and leaned against his desk, arms crossed in front of his chest, “Go on tell me your reason and then get out of my life”

Sherlock started laughing slightly, lips curled upwards and voice a deep rumble, “Oh you’re annoyed. Why? It’s not really because I broke into your room, I mean there is virtually nothing here that could be graded as secret or valuable. No, you were already annoyed before you knew what was waiting for you. I see that your little stunt made you famous. How does it feel?”

“You really are as terrible as they all say, in some aspects, aren’t you?” John sighed, he was too bloody tired for this game, “I did something someone else should have done long ago, preferably your parents. I don’t care if you are an uncivilised arsehole unless you let it out on others. So you know where the door is, go and be a nuisance somewhere else.” John gestured towards the door with one hand and turned around to unpack a few of his books.  There were about a million things he needed to do and he wasn’t inclined to waste anymore brain power on the lanky student than absolutely necessary to get him outside.

 

“I can end you”, Sherlock was suddenly standing right behind John and just clenching his teeth kept the blond from swirling around and bodily throwing the other person out of whatever opening he could find, “It’s so easy. Just a few favours called in and you won’t be able to do a single thing anymore.”

“Then why are you wasting your time breathing down my neck?” attack had always been John’s defence of choice. It had already gotten him the one or other blue eye but in the end that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. To his amusement there was no answer so he turned around grinning at the other student who was standing just inches from him with a slightly confused look. “Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? It seems like you are not used to people finding your threats everything but threatening. If you basked enough in my presence, I’d like you to leave now because some of us actually are here to study and not go around playing mafia”, he continued to organise books and notes, trying his best to ignore that he still had another person standing in the middle of his room.

He couldn’t hold himself back when he heard the signs of the other leaving though and called with a smirk “Don’t be so obvious when following me around. You’re no good as a stalker if the person you stalk knows you are following them.” A huff was all John got before he was alone again. “Well, that was something”, he murmured to himself.

 

 

The next days did continue much like the last week had. The admiring glances died down a little though. In the small world that was the University nearly nothing could hold the entire student body’s interest for much longer than a week. In John’s eyes that was more than fine. He was happy to finally be able to live a halfway normal life again. What hadn’t changed was the fact that Sherlock still seemed to pop up everywhere John had to be. It was frustrating to say the least. When at some point John had a bit of spare time he just nonchalantly walked over to where the dark haired youth was sitting. With a smirk he slammed a book on the table right under Sherlock’s nose making the other jump a bit.

“It was quiet entertaining the first day but by now it’s just irritating”, John said, “I’ve got time now, let’s grab a cup of coffee and try to work out why you have taken up the, previously not available, position of being my shadow.”

The other students gaze was confused enough that John nearly started to laugh. Apparently you could still surprise the ‘great’ Sherlock Holmes. After he had found his room occupied, John had sat down and had done some research of his own, trying to figure out with what he was dealing. Gossip had only brought him that far and he really preferred data he had found himself over second or third hand opinions. During his search he had come across a very interesting site called ‘The Science of Deduction’ which was run by one Sherlock Holmes and John thought the name was unusual enough to be sure it was the person he was researching. In the beginning he had found the articles quite weird, not really being interested in the different types of tobacco ash or bees to just the extend Sherlock seemed to conduct experiments. Overall he had to admit though that what he had read was incredibly well written and he thought he had glimpsed at parts of what the other’s genius was.

 

“Why would I want to do that? I mean have a coffee”, Sherlock asked when he had shaken himself out of his surprise.

John grinned, “I don’t know but you seem to be enthusiastic enough about following me and for me to stay sane with this arrangement I need to talk to you because I feel controlled.”

“I’m not following you”, Sherlock defended himself, spitting the word ‘following’ out with more scorn than John had ever heard anyone speak.

“Yes, of course you’re not”, John rolled his eyes and started to turn away, “Still if you want to do some actual research instead of just observing, I’m getting myself a coffee now. I thought you were so fond of first-hand information. At least that’s what you are advocating relentlessly on your website.”

John only knew his little comment had hit home when he heard the hurried shuffling of papers and quick steps behind him, the other student suddenly popping up in stride next to him.

“How do you know about that?” Sherlock’s voice sounded almost accusing, his brows furrowing.

“Not hard to find out about, is it?” John smirked, “I guess there are not many people in London called ‘Sherlock Holmes’, because that’s a pretentious name, and I believe there are even fewer people who write with that precise amount of distaste for the normal population. All in all it sounded pretty much like you and to be honest I can’t imagine anyone else actually conducting a study on the characteristics of tobacco ash. Of what use is that even?”

“It’s a very important experiment”, Sherlock’s feathers were obviously ruffled by John’s commentary, “There is a distinct pattern of differences and sometimes the most obvious clues are dismissed because some moron decided something as varied as tobacco ash is actually the same throughout. A certain amount of high ranking criminals still prefer individual brands of cigars which you can elegantly trace through the ash that might be left at a crime scene. These things could be the missing links in an otherwise endless case.”

John had to take a moment to admire the other’s rather beautiful reasoning. It was true he had thought ash to be pretty much the same throughout but apparently he had been wrong. “That is… well, interesting I suppose. Why are you even so up to date with crime scene procedures and the criminal world?”

Sherlock scoffed, “There is nothing more interesting going on in London than its rather staggering rate of crime. I concede most of it is rather dull and pedestrian but sometimes there is someone with a certain elegance.”

“Elegance? Not the word I would be using in context with crime”, John remarked and held the door to the small coffee shop near the campus open for Sherlock. The other’s gaze said all about how he thought about being treated like that but John didn’t care. He was polite and no one would change that, not even Sherlock Holmes.

“Can I get anything for you, too? You look like you could do with a cookie or two”, John asked, no malice behind the small quip.

“I can pay for my own coffee”, Sherlock simply said.

“I know”, John shrugged and just continued, “Black or milk and sugar?”

Sherlock seemed to look for something in John for a moment before he answered, “Black, two sugars.”

With a smile that said ‘see, works well like this, doesn’t it?’ John turned to the counter and ordered their drinks before walking towards a quiet corner to pull out a chair. “Sit down and then we can talk about this”

“There is nothing to talk about”

“So you keep saying and then you continue to stalk me”, John hummed, taking a careful sip from his coffee. He always disliked the first one. You never knew how hot the liquid was and more often than not you ended up burning the tip of your tongue.

“We are at the same University if you hadn’t noticed”, Sherlock said, head held high, “It’s unavoidable that our paths should cross.”

John snorted, “I hadn’t seen you a single time prior to the night I stumbled into your flat. I have been here for quite some duration already so believe me: It is entirely possible for our paths to not cross.”

Sherlock huffed and seemed to pluck at his cup, visibly trying to find a retort to that.

“Just… you know. Can you stop following me? Or at least do it openly and say hello, perhaps a few more words. You know I don’t actually have something against gaining new friends”, John tried friendly. He couldn’t imagine why the other would want to spend time with him but then again he couldn’t fathom what made silent stalking so much better either.

“I don’t have friends”, Sherlock answered irritated and looked up.

John bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders, “Pretty obvious if you ask me.” He took a swig of his coffee, leaning back in his chair. “So, why do I get the special treatment then? There must be something because I can’t believe you don’t have something better to do than this weird charade.”

 

Sherlock took a deep breath and sat back in his chair, his back against the wooden frame. John looked at him expectantly, an eyebrow raised and clearly waiting for an answer. “You are different”, he simply said, looking directly at John.

“Really?” John chuckled, “I’m different. That’s all?”

“It’s a lot”, Sherlock defended himself, “The majority of people are boring, predictable and an utter waste of time. You on the other hand. I can’t seem to figure you out so I tried to bid myself as much time as possible but so far you are still different.”

John’s lips curled up in a gentle smile, “You don’t meet many people then? Or you don’t try to see them for much more when you thing they are all boring.”

Sherlock just huffed.

“No, really. People might surprise you if you took two minutes to actually talk to them.” John said with a shrug, “Remember Toby? He’s a pretty okay kid. Well, at least he turned out to be after he had recovered from your vicious attack.”

Sherlock tilted his head as if he had no idea who the other was talking about.

“Oh, you really don’t remember?” John asked, “The reason you continue to follow me. The kid I more or less saved from you in the cafeteria a few weeks back. Freshman with the backpack?”

“Ah, why would I try to keep up with some petty freshman?” Sherlock questioned irritated, “I have no concerns whatsoever for him.”

“Of course you don’t”, John sighed and stood up, taking his cup with him, “You know where I live and apparently you know how to get in, too. If you are willing to actually tell me why you do all of this then you can come around but I don’t need you wasting my time even more than you are already doing.” He squeezed Sherlock’s shoulder once before he left the coffee shop.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again. I hope you enjoy the last chapter. See you soon :)

Their impromptu meeting was the last time John saw Sherlock for a few days. It got some comments from Molly and Toby but John didn’t care about them. He had made his point clear and apparently Sherlock had listened. Against everything he had thought, John found himself strangely missing the silent presence of the other. His ego would probably not survive him admitting that he had felt a bit special while the attention of the mysterious youth had been centred on him.  There had been something weirdly satisfying in commanding the presence of someone that was fought over on the whole campus. It irritated John to no avail because that wasn’t at all like him. Why did he want to have Sherlock behaving so unlike himself? Sure the other was quite beautiful. John had had enough one on one meetings to draw that conclusion for himself, thank you very much. Nevertheless there were plenty other beautiful people, too. People who didn’t seem to make a living out of being an arse and breaking into other students rooms. But it seemed as if John’s head was fixed on one particular dark mop of curls and those ridiculously pouty lips. He sighed and pushed the door to his room open, nearly dropping the stack of books in his arm.

 

“For heaven’s sake, can’t you come with a warning?” John nearly shouted surprised, throwing the books down on his desk and turning to Sherlock who was lounging, like he had done nothing even remotely wrong, on John’s bed.

“Warnings are boring”, the deep voice rumbled, lips turned up into a mischievous smirk. No, John definitely hadn’t thought about that mouth at length and wasn’t currently getting slightly weak knees. It was all just the shock, he told himself not even believing his own words for a second. Well, wasn’t that what he had wanted? Sherlock was here and John quite obviously had his attention.

“What do you want? I clearly remember giving a condition as to under which circumstances you were allowed to break into my room again”, John hoped his voice was calm and collected. So exactly the two things he wasn’t feeling at the moment. “I would still have no problem throwing you out of the window”, perhaps a little threat would mask over any feelings he didn’t want to show and the fact that the other was currently on his bed in a way John might or might not have dreamed about during the last days. 

Sherlock chuckled lightly and his head fell down again, hitting John’s pillow with a slight thud.

“Yes, yes. I was only to come again if I were willing to give you a reason as to why I followed you”, Sherlock mocked him a bit so much was obvious.

“Well, then talk away”, John offered and sat down in his desk chair, arms crossed in front of his chest, “But be aware that I don’t have all day.”

“Wrong”, Sherlock sat up with one fluid, well timed motion, “You have all the time in the world. You brought those books but we both know you won’t actually take a good look at them until about three days before you have to hand them back in, perhaps you’ll even extend the period of loan. What you had planned for you afternoon was to watch some crap telly or sleep and those things don’t count as ‘being busy’ because they are stupid things to do with your time.”

John had to laugh involuntarily, “Stupid things to do? You’re not doing them right then if that’s your opinion.”

Sherlock rolled his eyes, “That is beside the point.”

“Oh yes, right. The point was you telling me why you stalked me for two weeks and then stopped as if I suddenly got infected with an airborne disease.”

“No you are being dramatic”

“Not really, it about sums up your behaviour”, John shrugged.

Sherlock sighed and it seemed like he had to think for a moment. John was almost intrigued by the silence. It had seemed so unlikely that the other would look like this, almost contemplative. In John’s mind Sherlock had just brushed it all off, perhaps giving some flimsy reason or even something substantial but in the end he would always have kept his demeanour of aloofness and distance. John was glad he had been wrong. This was so much more human, and so much more dangerous, too.

 

“You were already interesting when you stumbled into my flat. I mean you were drunk beyond believe but although you obviously knew who was standing in front of you, you went into attack rather than defence mode”, Sherlock’s voice was a bit hesitant, recalling how they had first met. “You felt like you had done nothing wrong so you stood up for that. Most people just shy away when pushed accordingly, giving up their point of view to avoid confrontation. You didn’t. It’s rare and unusual and I think those things are fascinating. I tried figuring out why you did what you did during the term break. There are only so many times you can turn over a single encounter that’s why I needed new data. I make a point of now spending too much time near the rest of the students but in order to get my data I obviously had to.”

“Because I have friends and like them”, John chuckled, still leaning back. He felt like he was given a rare treat, having the other open up about his thought process so readily.

“Well, yes. Although I don’t get what you see in them, they are all so ordinary”, Sherlock waved his arms about in front of his body as if he couldn’t quite find the word which would describe what his hands were saying. “Anyway, that little thing happened and completely against everything every other student did you came forward and stood up for someone you didn’t know, just because you felt like it was the right thing to do. Now that spiked my curiosity and I tried to get as much observational data as I possible, so I could solve the mystery and get back to more important things.”

“Did you?” John asked, his head slightly tilted to one side.

“What?”

“Did you solve me?”

Sherlock’s huff was definitely annoyed and perhaps a tiny bit exasperated before he admitted defeat, “No.”

 

“So, I’m still a mystery and you are now trying to do what exactly?” John grinned, trying to conceal the glee he felt at, without even trying, having upstaged one Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock sent him a death glare.

“I’m sorry. I’m really not that special”, John shrugged and smiled, “But you are right, I don’t make a habit of not defending what I think to be the right course of action or point of view. And some posh bloke won’t change that especially since now I know how really unintimidating you are.” He stood up and went over to his bed, sitting down next to Sherlock. “You know we could try the friends thing if that’s not too pedestrian for you”

“Don’t treat me like I haven’t already seen through you from the moment you walked into the room”, Sherlock turned sideways so he was facing John who had raised an eyebrow in surprise. So much for concealing his attraction then. He could retreat to safer ground or throw his hat in the ring. Sometimes he didn’t know if he’d rather be less bold than he was.

“I thought _that_ would definitely be too much a thing common people would do for you”, John teased but leaned in just a fraction closer. If he was doing this, then he’d do it right, “I mean that is a pretty quick succession from ‘Who are you?’ to ‘I’m stalking you’ to ‘Let’s have sex’ don’t you think?”

“It’s only quick if your mind is that slow”, Sherlock shrugged, his eyes gleaming with the hint of a challenge.

 

“I think, I’ve just about caught up but are you sure, Mr. Holmes?” John breathed, his lips now inches from Sherlock’s, “Wouldn’t you rather observe from afar first?” He simply couldn’t hold back that small quip.

Sherlock rolled his eyes and pressed forward, connecting their lips which provoked a muffled moan from both. John pushed against Sherlock more urgently, his hand wandering up into soft, dark curls. Until now he hadn’t known how much he had wanted to sink his fingers into that hair. It didn’t take much for Sherlock to lie back, John sure to follow so they needn’t stop kissing. For all the time they had danced around each other, they now fitted together smoothly. After a few awkward bumps of knees and noses, their bodies aligned perfectly. John’s other hand, which wasn’t currently occupied with tugging at the lush curls, sneaked down to run along Sherlock’s side. The simple touch elicited another moan from Sherlock, nearly gasped in surprise.

“Didn’t know that?” John asked with a smirk and pulled Sherlock’s shirt up slightly to run his hand again over his side, just on bare skin this time. Sherlock’s breath hitched and John took that as enough agreement to let his lips kiss down the other’s neck.

“Oh god”, Sherlock mumbled, his head falling back against the bed, arching his throat into the touch of the blonde’s lips.

John hummed approvingly, his teeth just lightly grazing over the pale skin, drawing blood to the surface, actively spreading a blush over Sherlock’s body.

“Gosh, even your neck is bloody gorgeous” John chuckled, his hand in Sherlock’s hair tightening to pull the other’s head still further back. “So beautiful. You should look at yourself like this”, John breathed, attaching his lips right along the arch of Sherlock’s throat to suck a love bite onto it. Sherlock couldn’t stop moaning helplessly. There was no way for him to keep his otherwise marvellous self-control when he was under attack like this.

“I want to undress you, uncover all of you and then bit by bit take you apart”, John growled when he was content with the mark he had left. If Sherlock didn’t take to wearing a scarf continuously, it wouldn’t be possible to hide the darkening bruise.

“Yes, oh god, yes please”, Sherlock whimpered, his hands holding on tight to John’s shoulders. John could feel the body underneath him going pliant. It was a heady feeling to have such a wonderful person in his bed and to be allowed to come so close. With a smile John pulled his hand from Sherlock’s hair, using it to unbutton the other’s shirt while his lips feverishly kissed and caressed every newly bared piece of skin. Sherlock’s sighs and broken of tries at forming words only spurred John on even more, dipping his tongue into the other’s belly button and gently nipping at the skin just above his waistband.

 

With a smile John quickly ducked out of Sherlock’s grip and sat down at the far end of his bed. Sherlock groaned frustrated. “Don’t be like that”, John chuckled and began to remove his own shirt but stopped after his buttons were opened, “Come on, sit up, strip and then we can see what we can do once there are no more clothes in the way.” Sherlock growled and clambered into a kneeling position, ferociously tugging off his shirt.

“I see I’ve hit a nerve there”, John stood up to slowly pop open the button of his trousers, taking his time to watch Sherlock who was trying to get out of his clothes as quickly as possible and managing admirably so. He was looking with the tips of his fingers just below his waistband when Sherlock finished and was kneeling completely naked on his bed.

“God, you really are a beauty”, John said, his eyes hungrily taking in the sight. The pale skin was adorned with a pink flush, the dark curls in complete disarray, Sherlock’s lips shiny from their kisses and there was the pretty cock curving upwards, making John’s mouth water.

“Stop teasing now”, Sherlock demanded, crawling forward towards the edge of the bed and extending his arm to tug John closer on his belt loops. “I complied, now it’s your turn”, nimble fingers were pushing John’s jeans down, taking his pants right along and there was nothing he could or wanted to do about it.

 

The relief of pressure as his own cock bobbed free of his constrains made him moan but not as much as Sherlock who immediately fitted one large hand around his erection, pulling it once from root to tip. John’s breath was coming ragged now, one hand braced on Sherlock’s shoulder.

“Please, let me” Sherlock begged, looking up at John shortly before fixating the thick cock in front of his face again.

“Of course, oh god, whatever you want”, John groaned, “Just go slow”

Sherlock nearly pounced, his lips closing around the tip, his eyes fluttering shut and John couldn’t do anything but moan. One of his hands involuntarily went to Sherlock’s head, grabbing a handful of the dark curls. The other’s lips felt velvety smooth as they slid down further, connecting with the fingers still wrapped around the base of John’s cock.

“Oh that’s lovely”, John had taken to babbling as Sherlock worked his mouth around his cock. The heat was spreading all the way through his body, tingling along his spine. The younger man’s head was bobbing relentlessly now. John had to bite his lip as he looked down and his gaze was met by Sherlock, pupils blown wide and nearly eclipsing the pale irises. He moaned around his mouthful and the vibrations lead to a stuttering moan from John himself. One of his hands pushed into Sherlock’s neck, not exerting any pressure just lying there on the smooth skin his fingers gently stroking over it as the other worked him closer to orgasm.

“Sherlock, I’m going to…” John wanted to warn the other but Sherlock just pushed deeper, swallowing a few times and John couldn’t hold on anymore. He came open-mouthed with a silent cry, his hand in Sherlock’s neck momentarily tightening.

 

When he was spent, breathing heavily and his legs just holding him up by some miracle, he let go of Sherlock. John opened his eyes and gently brushed his thumb over Sherlock’s shiny, swollen lips. “That was quite unbelievable”, John smiled and bent down to kiss Sherlock who turned away.

“You don’t have to”, he murmured.

John put one knee, albeit wobbly, down on the edge of his bed, taking Sherlock’s face between his hands. “But what if I want to?” he asked, his lips just softly brushing over Sherlock’s, “Can I, if I want to?” There wasn’t a real verbal answer, just the sudden press of lips against his. John smiled slightly and pushed Sherlock back onto the bed. His left hand wandered lower, his full palm stroking over Sherlock’s erection. It wrangled a half gasped moan from Sherlock’s throat.

“I told you, I would take you apart”, John breathed and nipped at the plush bottom lip right in front of his face, “And I’m going to do exactly that now.”

 

Sherlock’s body practically quivered under John’s hands, the other’s legs spreading enough for him to fit comfortable between them. John quickly pulled his shirt off all the way, too. Then his lips gently teased along Sherlock’s neck towards his chest. The sudden gasp of air as John licked firmly over one nipple encouraged him to worry the little bud with his lips and teeth until Sherlock was babbling incoherently and pushing one hand down on John’s shoulder. John had to chuckle, leaving the other’s nipples in favour of making his way further down the pale body. His tongue swirled around Sherlock’s navel before dipping in a few times and then abandoning it in favour of biting and sucking small kisses to the soft skin stretching over the other’s hip bones.

“Please”, Sherlock whined, his voice already completely shaken.

“What?” John grinned, running the fingers of one hand up the inside of Sherlock’s thigh and down to lift it over his own shoulder. “What do you want?”

“Just touch me”, Sherlock groaned, letting his leg be pushed around without complaint.

“I am touching you”, John hummed against the pale skin, tracing the muscle line from Sherlock’s hip to his groin with his tongue.

Sherlock pushed his hips up, enabling John to slip a hand over his bum as he worked his mouth closer to the other’s cock. First, he nuzzled at the base before drawing his lips up the underside of it, tongue pressed firmly to the protruding vein. The tension in Sherlock’s body seemed to leave him with one sudden rush at the first touch of John’s lips. Suddenly, the other was all pliant limbs and soft skin beneath John which made him double his efforts, slipping his mouth seamless over the glistening head. He let his tongue toy a little with the slit and only gave in and let Sherlock slide all the way into his mouth when the keening got too loud.

 

John hadn’t thought it would be such a marvel to have Sherlock in his bed. There was no trace of the aloofness left. Just like anyone else the dark haired student was completely lost in the sensations and didn’t even make a move at controlling John’s pace. Since there was no way of knowing when or if he ever got the chance again, John ignored the ache with slowly manifested in his jaw.

“Oh god”, Sherlock whined, his face screwed up with pleasure. His eyes were firmly closed and moth was hanging slightly agape.

No chance of answering with more than a low hum for John but he freed one hand to push it behind Sherlock’s balls into his perineum. The sudden jolt of having his prostate firmly massaged from the outside made Sherlock first thrust up in surprise and then almost immediately crash over the edge. The hot liquid spilled over John’s tongue down his throat. It still wasn’t John’s favourite, all weird consistency and bitter after taste, but he mostly swallowed to avoid mess and sometimes to enjoy the look on his lovers face.

 

So far it was obvious Sherlock would need a few moments to calm down again and now that they weren’t at it anymore, John had no idea how to handle the situation. They had practically crashed into this head first.

“Stop thinking”, Sherlock’s voice was deep and still a bit slurred although the pleasure induced fog in his eyes had cleared again, giving them back their cutting edge, “This was way too good for you to be thinking now.”

“What else should I be doing in your opinion?” John asked, having sat back. Sherlock was still sprawled on the bed, legs just lying how they had fallen.

“Wait five minutes and then try to get it up again?” there was a smirk curling along the plush lips and John had to chuckle.

“I’m still sure we need to talk about a few things”, he pointed out.

Sherlock groaned, “Wasn’t that enough talking?”

“Pretty sure those were blowjobs which aren’t normally characterised as part of a conversation”, John pointed out, not being able to hold back a smile himself now.

“They should be”, Sherlock simply shrugged and somehow the topic was through with that. It was nearly unbelievable at what John was staring but then there were some quite real aches to convince him that no, this was not a dream. He had just fucked the nuisance extraordinaire and he doubted there was much that could stop him from doing it again.


End file.
